"The Exonerated"
Joanna M. Sandstrom
Issue date: 3/1/03 Section: Arts & Leisure
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Over 100 people have been exonerated in this country. Let me repeat that and phrase it another way. Over 100 were charged, convicted, incarcerated, and (in some cases) put on death row for crimes they did not commit. And that number, unfortunately, constitutes the lucky few about whom we even know. If over 100 people have been exonerated, there must be hundreds of people incarcerated or even put to death in this country who are factually innocent of the crimes for which they are accused. Scary thought.
A new production by the Culture Project seeks to throw light on the plight of the wrongfully convicted in this country. "The Exonerated" is the story of six individuals wrongfully convicted and eventually exonerated.
These stories include the story of a woman, Sunny Jacobs, who was falsely implicated in a 1976 murder of a law enforcement officer. Based upon the false testimony of the actual perpetrator, Jacobs and the man she considered to be her husband were convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Jacobs was incarcerated for 16 years, five of them on death row, before she was finally exonerated in 1992.
The same evidence which exonerated Jacobs would have also exonerated her husband, Jesse Tafero; unfortunately, he was put to death only two years before the exonerating evidence was discovered. Those of you who are anti-death penalty advocates may recognize Tafero's name, as it took the state of Florida three tries and 17 minutes to put him to death by the electric chair in 1990.
"The Exonerated" was "written" by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, using legal documents, court transcripts, letters, and interviews with an exonerated person. The vast majority of the play comes from the text of these documents; the words of the play are the words of the actual participants in these cases. The play was performed at the Warner Theater on January 14-19. Among the cast was Mia Farrow, who played Jacobs, Brian Dennehy, and Chad Lowe.
I was privileged to attend the performance on January 16 with, among others, Deans Claudio Grossman and Robert Dinerstein and the Innocence Project faculty sponsor Professor Miller. (Thank you, Professor Wermiel!) The performance was simple - ten actors sitting on a stage, all in a row, "reading." There was no set, little costuming, few sound effects and simple lighting - nothing to detract from the stories. The starkness of the production only intensified the drama, allowing the power of the words to chill.
A new production by the Culture Project seeks to throw light on the plight of the wrongfully convicted in this country. "The Exonerated" is the story of six individuals wrongfully convicted and eventually exonerated.
These stories include the story of a woman, Sunny Jacobs, who was falsely implicated in a 1976 murder of a law enforcement officer. Based upon the false testimony of the actual perpetrator, Jacobs and the man she considered to be her husband were convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Jacobs was incarcerated for 16 years, five of them on death row, before she was finally exonerated in 1992.
The same evidence which exonerated Jacobs would have also exonerated her husband, Jesse Tafero; unfortunately, he was put to death only two years before the exonerating evidence was discovered. Those of you who are anti-death penalty advocates may recognize Tafero's name, as it took the state of Florida three tries and 17 minutes to put him to death by the electric chair in 1990.
"The Exonerated" was "written" by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, using legal documents, court transcripts, letters, and interviews with an exonerated person. The vast majority of the play comes from the text of these documents; the words of the play are the words of the actual participants in these cases. The play was performed at the Warner Theater on January 14-19. Among the cast was Mia Farrow, who played Jacobs, Brian Dennehy, and Chad Lowe.
I was privileged to attend the performance on January 16 with, among others, Deans Claudio Grossman and Robert Dinerstein and the Innocence Project faculty sponsor Professor Miller. (Thank you, Professor Wermiel!) The performance was simple - ten actors sitting on a stage, all in a row, "reading." There was no set, little costuming, few sound effects and simple lighting - nothing to detract from the stories. The starkness of the production only intensified the drama, allowing the power of the words to chill.